Oil-filter.



No. 7l3,292. Patented Nov. ll, I902.

J. D. EDWARDS.

OIL FILTER.

(Application filed June 14, 1901. (No Model.)

WITNESSES; IALVENT'OR Mad e046,

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UNITE STATES 5? ATENT OFFICE.

JOHN D. EDWARDS, OF WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK.

OIL -FILTER.

SEEQIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 713,292, datedNovember 1 1, 1902.

Application filed June 14, 1901.

T0 aZZ whom, it Wtcty concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN D. EDWARDS, of Weedsport, in the county ofCayuga, in the State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Oil-Filters, of which the following, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for filtering oil inwhich a liquid, as Water, is the filtering medium.

The object of this invention is to produce a simple, compact, andefficient device whereby the oil is successively fed from a suitablereservoir through a series of upright legs or conduits containing afiltering fluid of greater specific gravity than the oil, the oil beingcollected at the top of each filter-leg by upward displacement. V

A further object is to provide means where by the oil maybe fed in anydesired quantity through the filtering-legs.

A still further object is to provide the filtering device with a seriesof valves, whereby the oil or filtering fluid may be drawn off at anytime for the purpose of removing the sediment from the bases of theloops which form the oil and filtering legs.

To this end the invention consists in the combination, construction, andarrangement of the component partsof a filter device, as hereinafterdescribed, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improvedfiltering apparatus. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section through theoil and filtering legs, the loops of the filtering device being shown asextended laterally in substantially the same plane; and Fig. 3 is anenlarged section on line 3 3, Fig. 1.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all theviews.

As seen in the drawings, this invention consists of an oil-reservoir 1,having a depending leg or conduit 2, the lower end of which is providedwith a return-bend 3, to which is connected an upright conduit or leg 4.The upper end of the leg or conduit4 is also provided with a return-bend5, having a downwardlyextending leg 6, the lower end of which is alsoprovided with a return-bend 7 fierial No. 64,566. (No model.)

and an upwardly-extending leg 8. In like manner the upright leg orconduit 8 is providedwith a return-bend 9,having a downwardlyextendingconduit 10, the lower end of which is provided with a return-bend 11 andan upwardly-extending conduit 12. These several conduits 2, 4, G, 8, 10,and 12, together with the return-bends 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11, form a seriesof loops and may be extended indefinitely, the last leg, as 12, havingits upper end provided with a return-bend 13 and a discharge-valve 14.The several loops or legs are previously filled with water or otherfiltering fluid of greater specific gravity than the oil until saidfiltering fluid flows out of the valve 14, which indicates that theseveral loops are filled with the filtering fluid.

The leg 2 extends above the level of the upper ends of the return-bends5, 9, and 13, and the filtering fluid is supplied to the several loopsthrough the reservoir 1 and leg 2 and is permitted to discharge throughthe valve 14 until the water is lowered in the leg 2 to substantiallythe same level as in the remaining loops.

The reservoir 1 is mounted upon the upper end of the leg 2 a sufficientdistance to contain a column of oil having sufficient weight to displacethe water from the leg 2. The

reservoir is then filled with the oil to be filtered, and it is apparentthat as the water is displaced from the conduit 2 it is forcedupwardlyinto the conduit 4, thereby filling the leg or conduit 4 from alevel substantially coincident with the upper wall of the returnbend 3to the level of the lower wall of the return-bend 5, and owing to thefact that the oil is of less specific gravity than the filtering fluidsaid oil rises through the filtering fiuid in the leg 4 and is collectedat the top of the filtering fiuid in the leg 4, and as the oil continuesto collect at the top of the filtering fluid in the leg 4 the water orother filtering fluid in the leg 6 is forced downwardly until thefiltering fluid is entirely displaced from the Water-leg 6. In the samemanner the oil rises through the filtering fluid in the next adjacentleg 8, being collected at its upper end and displacing the water fromthe next leg 10, and so on through the leg 12 until the oil is collectedat the upper end of said leg 12 and discharges in a thoroughly filteredcondition through the outlet-valve 14.

The principle of my invention is well illustrated by the first stepthatis, by the displacing of the water from the leg 2 into the leg 4: bymeans of a superior weight of oil in the reservoir andupwardly-extending portion of the leg 2, and, if desired, the valve 14may be connected directly to the downtu rned end of the return-bend 5,in which case the oil would be filtered through only one column ofwater, the remaining columns of water being only for the purpose offurther filtering the oil, and the loops may be extended indefinitely,it being apparent that the greater number of loops there are the betl erwill be the filtration of the oil.

The lower walls of the several return-bends 3, 7, and 11 are eachprovided with a discharge-opening and a valve, as 15, whereby thesediment which may accumulate in these return-bends may be readily drawnoff when desired. I also provide the upright leg or column 2 with avalve 16, which is usually arranged at the base of the reservoir forcontrolling the flow of oil from said reservoir. In order to furtherprovide for the filtration of the oil, I preferably arrange within thereservoir 1 a suitable hopper 17, which is provided at its base with ascreen 18, through which the oil must pass before passing to the uprightleg 2. This hopper-is preferably removable, the upper end of thereservoir 1 being open and provided with a removable cap for permittingthis removal of the hopper and enabling the attendant to clean thescreen whenever it may become necessary.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description and the accompanyingdrawings that when the valve 16 in the leg 2 is opened the speed of theflow of oil through the several filtering-columns may be regulated bythe valve 14, or it may be controlled by the valve 16 in the upper endof the leg 2, if desired, for producing either a slow or rapidfiltration.

The operation of my invention will now be readily understood uponreference to the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings,and it will be noted that the essential feature of this invention is toprovide two upright legs or conduits connected at their bases, the upperend of one being connected to an oil-reservoir and the other containinga filtering fluid, whereby the oil from the reservoir passes downwardlyand upwardly through the filtering fluid and is collected at the top ofthe filtering-column, and that the several loops may be arranged in anydesired manner, either as seen in Fig. 1 or as shown in Fig. 2.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An oil-filter consisting of an upright water-leg having its upper andlower ends provided with return-bends, an oil-leg extending upwardlyfrom the lower return-bend and above the upper bend, and a reservoirdischarging into the upper end of the oil-leg.

2. An oil-filter consisting of a substantially U-sl1aped conduit adaptedto be first filled with a filtering liquid as water, one of the armsbeing longer than the other and arranged to receive a column of oil ofsuflicient gravity to displace the water therefrom into the shorter arm.

3. An oil-filter consisting of a U-shaped conduit having one arm longerthan the other for the purpose described, the shorter arm having itsupper end provided with a returnbend, and a second U-shaped conduithaving one arm connected to the upper return-bend of the former U-shapedconduit.

4. An oil-filter consisting of a U-shaped conduit having one arm longerthan the other for the purpose described, the shorter arm having itsupper end provided with a returnbend, and a second U-shaped conduithaving its arms of substantially the same length as the shorter arm ofthe other conduit, one of the arms of the latter conduit being connectedto the upper return-bend of the former conduit and its other armterminating in a return-bend.

5. An oil-filter consisting of upright legs united at their lower endsand provided with a clean-out opening at their junction, one of the legsbeing extended upwardly and above the other as and for the purposedescribed and provided with a valve and an oil-reservoir, and the otherleg having a return-bend at its upper end for the purpose set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 12th day of June,1901.

JOHN D. EDWARDS.

Witnesses:

J NO. F. KINGSTON, ISAAC CHADDERDON.

